1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gaming, and provides a method and apparatus for dispensing of awards.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many kinds of gaming machines in current use. Such machines include slot machines, either mechanical or electronic, video poker machines, and many other kinds of mechanical, electrical, and electronic machines which enable players to play games of chance. In all cases, these machines provide awards in only limited ways. It is, of course, possible for a machine to dispense an award of coins directly to the player, as is commonly done in the case of slot machines and the like. Other electronic gaming machines include built-in printers, which provide a winning player with a ticket, or other printed material, which can be redeemed for money at a cashier""s window. In all of these cases, the award is in the form of money, not some other tangible item of value. Depending on the design of the gaming machine, the player may see a display of a dollar amount that can be won with the machine. But for gaming machines of the prior art, the awarding of non-monetary prizes has not been considered feasible due to requirements of security and inventory control.
The entertainment value of some games may be substantially enhanced when the player has the opportunity to view the actual award that can be won. Moreover, some kinds of valuable tangible awards occupy very little space, such as diamonds, jewelry, watches, tickets to popular sporting events, keys to an automobile, and others. However, placing awards of this kind in a display case is problematic, because of the need for security. In order to display an award of this kind continuously to players, one must have a mechanism that assures that neither players nor gaming personnel will be able to gain access to such awards without proper authorization. Also, it is important to have a mechanism for automatically monitoring an inventory of awards, both for purposes of maintaining security of the awards, and to be sure that the gaming machine is properly stocked at all times.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus which makes it feasible to display and dispense actual, non-monetary awards which can be won at a gaming machine. The invention provides multiple levels of security which greatly reduce the chance of theft by players or by employees of the gaming establishment.
The apparatus of the present invention includes a vault, which may be integrated with a gaming machine, or which may be a separate unit controlled by the gaming machine. The vault includes a plurality of compartments, in which various tangible awards are displayed. The compartments have exterior walls comprising transparent windows, allowing the contents of the compartments to be seen from the outside, while still preventing unauthorized access. In the preferred embodiment, the compartments are further closed off from the outside by a locked exterior door which encloses all of the compartments, but which also contains a single window permitting a player to view the contents of all of the compartments.
When, in playing the game, a player wins a prize which qualifies the player for one of the tangible awards, the system so notifies the player, by an appropriate display of lights and/or appropriate sounds. In the preferred embodiment, at least the following three events must occur to enable the player to retrieve an award. First, the player must select one of the awards, such as by pressing an input device. Second, an attendant must unlock the exterior door to enable access to the compartments. This is preferably done by verifying the identity of the attendant using a radio frequency identification badge or card worn by the attendant. A device is provided on the vault that interrogates the badge and receives an identifying signal. Third, the attendant may open the selected compartment using a key, the lock on the key being enabled by the vault and/or by a central computer.
The system also includes inventory control means for monitoring the contents of the compartments and maintaining records of which awards have been dispensed to players. In the preferred embodiment, the inventory control means comprises an RF identification (RFID) system, wherein each award includes a small tag containing an electronic circuit which generates an RF signal in response to wireless interrogation from a transmitter. By continuously interrogating the circuits on the tags, and monitoring the responses received, the system can continuously verify that there has been no breach of security, and can also generate reports concerning the status of an inventory of awards.
The invention therefore has a primary object of providing an apparatus and method for dispensing of tangible awards to players of a game.
The invention has the further object of providing a secure system for storing, displaying, and dispensing of valuable, tangible awards.
The invention has the further object of providing a method and apparatus which enhances the entertainment value of a gaming machine, by making it feasible to display and dispense tangible awards to winners of games.
The invention has the further object of providing a gaming method and apparatus which allow a winning player to choose a particular award to be dispensed.
The invention has the further object of providing a device for dispensing tangible awards, which device can be integrated with a gaming machine.
The invention has the further object of providing a device as described above, wherein the device will not permit access to a tangible award unless a player has won a game which entitles the player to that award.
The invention has the further object of providing a device for storing and dispensing of tangible awards, wherein the device has automated means for monitoring an inventory of awards.